The UK and Hong Kong Societies in Term of Immigration - Assignment Example

Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : xxxxxxxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2011 Compare and Contrast between the UK and Hong Kong Societies in term of Immigration, Ageing Population and Social Welfare Introduction Contemporary societies have different aging populations, immigration trends and social welfare. Immigration can be defined as the activity of coming or passing into a country with an intention of permanent residence. On the other hand, an ageing population can be described as the increase in the number as well as the proportion of older people within a particular society. Social welfare is concerned with how individuals, communities and institutions within a society make a start towards providing certain minimum standards and certain opportunities. It generally involves helping individuals facing contingencies, as a result acting as a requisite for the wellbeing of any society. This particular essay therefore aims to outline the differences and similarities of the UK and Hong Kong Societies in terms of Immigration, Ageing Population and Social Welfare. One common aspect between the UK and Hong Kong Societies in terms of immigration is that both have enforced stronger measures of immigration control. In UK, for instance, the UK border agency is charged with the responsibility of securing the border as well as controlling migration within the UK. The UK border agency manages border control for the UK, putting into force immigration and customs regulations. In addition, it also considers requests for permissions to enter or stay in UK, and for citizenship and refuge. The stronger measures of control in the case of UK are attributed to the social burden placed on the UK as a result of immigration explosion which caused the Labour and the Conservative parties propose stronger control measures. Both the parties have protested that immigration poses a great threat to their national security and therefore would like yearly limits set and increased security at travel ports. This same reason applies to the Hong Kong’s case where immigration control are intended and operated to prevent the entry of undesirable individuals. The Hong Kong Immigration department which is tagged with the responsibility of control of people moving in out of Hong Kong by air, sea and land also takes charge of the processing of applications relating to nationality law as well as the claims to right of residence under the Basic Law (BL), travel documents issues, identity cards, and the registration of births, deaths and marriage certificates (Information Services Department, Hong Kong, 2010). Another common aspect between the UK and Hong Kong in terms of Immigration is that both have all along adopted liberal and open immigration policies to attract talent and capital. In Hong Kong, for instance, overseas professionals with special skills, knowledge and experience of value to, and are not readily available, or those in position to make substantial role to the economy, are able to apply to work in Hong Kong under the General Employment Policy (GEP) (Information Services Department, Hong Kong, 2010). In the year 2009, for instance, approximately 20,988 overseas professionals were admitted under the General Employment Policy (GEP).On the other hand, the UK adopts a points-based system that gives merit points to immigrants for the purposes of education and work. The intentions of these schemes are normally to attract qualified talent into both countries so as to meet the local manpower needs and enhance competitiveness within the globalized market. Both nations also grant visas, usually for up to six months on entry, provided an individual satisfies the respective migration officers that the reasons for their visits satisfies the respective nations’ immigration rules. Conversely, a clear contrasting aspect between the UK and Hong Kong in terms of Immigration can nonetheless be seen through their respective visa regulations. In the case of the UK, nationalities of the United States, Australia or Canada, or those living legally in those nations do not need for tourists to enter the UK.However; there is no fee for visa granted on entry (Arfin, 2011). As for Hong Kong, nationalities of Europe, United States, New Zealand and Australia do not need a visa to enter Hong Kong for stays of 90 days for the UK nationals (Boland, 2011). In terms of the ageing population, both the UK and Hong Kong have experienced an increase in the proportion of the elderly population aged 65 and over. The estimated resident population of UK was 61,792,000 in mid -2009, up by 394,000 on the last year with the percentage of the population aged 65 and over increasing over the past 25 years from 15% in 1984 to 16% in 2009, an increase of 1.7 million people (Office for National Statistics, 2010). Population Estimates UK population grows to 61.8 million Population: by gender and age, mid-2009 It is clearly seen from the above diagram that the middle part is wider, an indication that the UK is encounter ageing problem. On the other hand, as for the case of Hong Kong, the population ageing persons aged 65 and above was 0.88 million (12.6%) of Hong Kong’s total population. It is also predicted that in 2016 and 2033, the percentage will increase to 14 per cent and 27 per cent respectively (Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong, 2007). Male ('000) Female ('000) Both sexes ('000) Both Sexes (% of total population) 0 – 4 133.0 122.2 255.2 3.6 5 – 9 127.6 118.6 246.2 3.5 10 – 14 178.2 168.9 347.1 4.9 15 – 19 221.4 209.8 431.2 6.1 20 – 24 220.6 232.9 453.5 6.4 25 – 29 229.4 309.6 539.0 7.6 30 – 34 225.9 325.1 551.0 7.8 35 – 39 237.8 332.2 570.0 8.0 40 – 44 248.9 334.2 583.1 8.2 45 – 49 302.4 359.2 661.6 9.3 50 – 54 315.8 325.2 641.0 9.0 55 – 59 248.8 252.5 501.3 7.1 60 – 64 197.8 193.7 391.5 5.5 65 – 69 118.1 109.1 227.2 3.2 70 – 74 116.0 115.6 231.6 3.3 75 – 79 95.1 105.5 200.6 2.8 80 – 84 59.9 80.7 140.6 2.0 >= 85 40.5 85.4 125.9 1.8 All age groups 3 317.2 3 780.4 7 097.6 100.0 According to Hong Kong Demographic statistics section, Census and statistics Department, it is evident that the age group in 40-44, 45-49, 50-54,had a standout figure, which indicates that majority of people in the society are the elderly, an indication that Hong Kong is a ageing population city. However, unlike Hong Kong, the UK is experiencing the fastest population growth witnessed in the number of the elderly aged 85 and above, and who are commonly referred to as the “oldest” old. In the year 1984, for instance, there were approximately 660,000 people in the United Kingdom aged 85 and above. Since then the numbers of those aged 85 and above have more than doubled getting to 1.4 million in 2009.By the year 2034 the number of elderly people aged 85 and above is predicted to be 2.5 times larger than in the year 2009, getting to 3.5 million and as well, accounting for 5% of the total population (Office for National Statistics, UK, 2011). Another similar aspect of both the UK and Hong Kong ageing population is also revealed through their increasing numbers of the median ages of their elderly population. On the other hand, a contrasting aspect of the ageing population in the UK and Hong Kong is also revealed through their respective median ages due to the increasing numbers of the older population. Over the last two-and-half decades the median age increased of the UK population increased from 35 years in 1984 to 39 years in the year 2009.It is even projected that it will continue to increase over the next 25 years rising to 42 by the year 2034.Similarly, the ageing trend is also exposed by the increasing median age of the Hong Kong population, from 39.6 in the year 2006 to the year 46.1 in the year 2036 (Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong, 2007). Apart from the contrast in the increasing median age of both the UK and Hong Kong population, another contrast between the two regions is revealed through their old age dependency ratio. As the United Kingdom population grows old, the old age dependency ratio which measures the individuals of State Pension Age and over for every 1,000 people of working age is predicted to rise. The UK old age dependency ratio is relatively higher as compared to Hong Kong. The ratio was stable at around 300 from the mid-1970s to 2006, but got to 310 in the year 2008.It is, however, predicted to reach 495 by the year 2051.As with the case of Hong Kong, the old age dependency ratio was 168, i.e. every 1,000 working individuals has to take care of 168 elderly individuals age 65 or above. As the population of the elderly has been growing and the birth rate is dropping, the figures are projected to increase to 282 in 2023 and 428 in 2033. In terms of social welfare, one major aspect that is common between the UK and Hong Kong is based on the fact that in both regions, social welfare services are largely provided by and within a framework set up as well as controlled by the respective governments. This means that both the UK and Hong Kong are by themselves unitary states in which the central governments considerably direct most government activities. In the United Kingdom, for instance, social welfare services are administered in three ways, Pensions Service program, Social Services program and the National Health Service. National Health Services are provided by the government with agencies employing more than 2 million doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers in order to achieve this. The expenditure on health care is normally estimated to be more than 60 billion pounds. However, individuals living in UK do not need to pay for the health care services when ill as this is already paid by the government. On the other hand, Hong Kong has a Council of Social Services known as the Social welfare Department which is run by the government. Their major welfare services include the Social Security Services, Medical Social Services and Services for Elders Family, and Child Welfare Services. The Social Security Services, Family and Child Welfare Services provide financial support to the poor as well as those in need of financial assistance. The Council of social services examines various applications from appliers in order to ascertain whether they genuinely need assistance. The unemployed are also allowed to apply for pensions with the council also assisting them find jobs as well. It is therefore both the respective governments that provide the greater part of the fundings for the voluntary bodies and, by means of the local authorities; they also lay down standards of care within their respective private sectors (Moore, 2002). However, those intending to use the health care services in Hong Kong only pay a little amount of money for the services as a greater part of the fees are already subsidized by the government. This therefore makes a major contrast between the UK and Hong Kong, in spite of the fact that health care services in both societies are supported by the government. On the other hand, another contrary aspect concerning social welfare in the two regions entails the scope of welfare services. Hong Kong generally has diversified social welfare services. Besides community, family, youth, rehabilitation services and children, partnerships with various sectors have been initiated in recent years to give all kinds of pilot services. For instance, there are about 424 voluntary welfare organizations, with more than 40,000 employed staff, providing over 90 per cent of the welfare services in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Council of Social Services, 2000). On the other hand, in the context of UK, the scope of social welfare is not that diversified bearing the fact that it is the government that provides a bulk of the social welfare funds and services through agencies such as the National Health Service and local authority organizations (Moore, 2002). Conclusion From the above analysis, the major similarities that exist between the UK and Hong Kong in terms of Immigration, ageing population and social welfare include stronger measures of immigration control, adoption of liberal and open immigration policies, granting of visas, usually for up to six months on entry, increase in the proportion of the elderly population aged 65 and over, increasing numbers of the median ages of their elderly population and social welfare services that are largely provided by and within a framework set up as well as controlled by the respective states. On the other hand, the major contrasts can be seen through their respective visa regulations, differences in the rate of population growth among the elderly aged 85 and above and old age dependency ratio. In conclusion, it can be stated that both the UK and Hong Kong societies have differences in terms of Immigration, Ageing Population and Social Welfare. References Arfin, F, 2011, Passports and Visas: Do I Need a Visa for the UK? Retrieved on June 1, 2011 from http://gouk.about.com/od/tripplanning/f/Visafacts.htm Boland, R, 2011, Do I Need a Hong Kong Visa? Rules and Regulations for Hong Kong visas, Retrieved on June 1, 2011 from http://gohongkong.about.com/od/travelplanner/a/hongkongvisa.htm Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong, 2007, Hong Kong Population Projections 2007-2036, Retrieved on June 1, 2011 from http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200707/16/P200707160137.htm Hong Kong Council of Social Services, 2000, Mission of Social Welfare in Hong Kong. Information Services Department, Hong Kong, 2010, Special Administrative Region Government, Hong Kong: The Facts. Moore, S, 2002, Social Welfare Alive! Edition 3, illustrated, Nelson Thornes. Office for National Statistics, UK, 2011, Population: Ageing fastest increase in the ‘oldest old’, Retrieved on June 1, 2011 from http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=949 Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency, 2010, Population Estimates:UK Population grows to 61.8 Million. Read More